Story Bank

Early in 2012 my family and I were happy and excited to welcome a new grandbaby, but three weeks after delivery, my daughter was back in the hospital with MRSA. She proudly serves in the US Air Force and with

“Many small business owners feel as I do that paid family and medical leave isn’t just the right thing to do, but that it makes good business sense. Taking care of our employees is crucial to retaining a loyal, talented workforce.”

“. . . [When] I utilized Paid Family Leave. I didn’t have to worry about anything but [my son]. My focus, my attention, my energy could stay on him and I didn’t have to worry about work deadlines, work projects. . . I could just focus on being his mom, getting the treatment he needed.”

“In 2007 my wife Silvia developed eye problems and had a lot of doctor appointments. I worked nights so that . . . I could be with my family [during the day] . . . [and] hardly slept. When my wife had her operations, I would leave work at 6am, leave the house with her at 7am and go to the hospital, [not returning home until] seven at night [to] sleep two hours before going to work . . . ”

“I know when it’s my time to die and I think back about my life, I won’t give a damn whether I was at work or not, but I will care that I was with my dad. . . Work is important, but not as important as my family, my children, my husband. Those are the things that count in life. . . I had my dad for 94 years. . . I’m fortunate that I was able to be with him when he was sick. Everyone should be able to do that.”